Adventures are usually supposed to be fun, giddily exciting undertakings, thekind of thing that The Famous Five or The Lord of the Rings cohort set out on (though admittedly the latter group did have the weight of theworld on their shoulders, what with ending great evil and all that) and Continue Reading
The Walking Dead: World Beyond – “Truth or Dare” (S1, E7 review) + Fear the Walking Dead: “Bury Her Next to Jasper’s Leg” (S6, E6 review)
THE WALKING DEAD: THE WORLD BEYOND SPOILERS AHEAD … AND AN ART GALLERY IN A TRUCK AND LYING FOR GOOD REASONS … Who doesn’t love a light and unburdened soul? Let’s face it, most of us will choose spilling the truth, if only to make ourselves feel better and perhaps Continue Reading
Book review: Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell is one of those rare books that successfully and with quietly devastating effect takes you deep into the life of an historical figure and brings them into life with a vivacity so palpable you feel as if you known them as well as your own friends. Continue Reading
This holiday season, dare to fall in love: Thoughts on Dash & Lily
If you are one of a more romantic persuasion than most, then you will find a great deal to like about a show that combines romantic comedy and Christmas, two genres that together account for much of the swoon-worthy, sigh-worthy, rose-coloured glass wearing wonder that makes the escapist part of Continue Reading
Comics review: Heartstopper (Volume 3) by Alice Oseman
Ah, the giddy joys of falling in love. All the wining and dining and dating and kissing and the glittering possibilities of things yet to come; it is hard not to be swept into the starry-eyed dance of romantic back-and-forth, culminating, if Cupid is smiling upon you, in getting together Continue Reading
Give a little love: John Lewis / Waitrose debut their very kind 2020 #Christmas ad
2020 has been a tough year. Tens of millions of people around the world have contracted COVID-19 or found themselves in lockdown to avoid hastening its spread or have been unable to see close friends and loved ones for much of the time. So what’s the world need in a Continue Reading
Star Trek: Discovery – “Die Trying” (S3, E5 review) / The Mandalorian – “Chapter 11: The Heiress” (S2, E3 review)
STAR TREK: DISCOVERY SPOILERS AHEAD … AND PLANTS RUN AMUCK …. If you ever wanted a Star Trek episode, no matter the series, and you’re likely well aware their number is legion, or soon to be at least, that absolutely, perfectly and completely encapsulates how this most idealistic of franchises Continue Reading
Book review: Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales
It was Lysander, in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream who remarked that “The course of true love never did run smooth” but it’s Ollie, the protagonist from Sophie Gonzales’s passionately heartfelt tale of young gay love, Only Mostly Devastated, who can issue a hearty “Amen!” some 400 years after the Continue Reading
Movie review: Corpus Christi
There are very few genuine second chances in life. Oh, we love to mythologise and celebrate them, holding them up as proof positive that one mistake in life does not a condemned existence make. But as Corpus Christi (Polish: Boże Ciało) demonstrates with a quietly nuanced but furious intensity, opportunities Continue Reading
Songs, songs and more songs #38: Tate McRae, Aluna, Astrid S, Alex Porat, London Thompson
Being honest about your feeling is hard. Damn hard. If you’re like most people, you fear being judged or misunderstood or seen as weak or immature; the truth of the matter though is that there is a freedom in baring your soul and asking whether anyone else feels like you Continue Reading